Bomb Sniffing Dogs, Spotters on Roofs Before Explosions --UM Coach 15 Apr 2013 University of Mobile's Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines. "They kept making announcements to the participants do not worry, it's just a training exercise," Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15. Stevenson said he saw law enforcement spotters on the roofs at the start of the race. He's been in plenty of marathons in Chicago, D.C., Chicago, London and other major metropolitan areas but has never seen that level of security before. "Evidently, I don't believe they were just having a training exercise," Stevenson said. "I think they must have had some sort of threat or suspicion called in."

University of Mobile’s Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines."They kept making announcements to the participants do not worry, it's just a training exercise," Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15.

Stevenson said he saw law enforcement spotters on the roofs at the start of the race. He's been in plenty of marathons in Chicago, D.C., Chicago, London and other major metropolitan areas but has never seen that level of security before."Evidently, I don't believe they were just having a training exercise," Stevenson said. "I think they must have had some sort of threat or suspicion called in."

CNN reports a state government official said there were no credible threats before the race.

Stevenson had just finished the marathon before the explosions. Stevenson said his wife had been sitting in one of the seating sections where an explosion went off, but thankfully she left her seat and was walking to meet up with him.

"We are just so thankful right now," Stevenson said.

A runner says officials at the Boston Marathon said bomb sniffing dogs were on site for a training exercise.

Runners getting set to take part in the Boston Marathon were warned beforehand that they were going to die, said a Squamish resident who took part in the race.

Three people were killed and more than 140 were injured when two bombs exploded near the finish line of the famed 42.2-kilometer running event on Monday (April 15).

Mike Heiliger, 59, said a woman holding several bags was telling runners who were picking up their pre-race packages in downtown Boston on Saturday (April 13) that they were going to die if they participated in the event.

“I was downtown on Saturday and you know, you see these people on the street and think it's just some nutbar,” he told The Chief from his Boston hotel on Monday. “It was a little creepy because you can identify who the runners are and I heard her say to this runner two feet away from me that, 'If you run tomorrow you're going to die.'”

At the time, Heiliger said he thought about telling the woman that the race was Monday, but decided not to correct her.

Heiliger was in the process of calling the police after his conversation with The Chief.

“I thought it was just a nut and maybe she was a nut but she was holding a couple of bags like she just got off a plane and was accosting runners on Saturday,” he said.

The Squamish resident was one of a group of about 15 runners from the North Shore and he said they're all fine.

“We all run in a run club and as far as I know all of our people are OK,” he said. “Some of them didn't get to finish, unfortunately, because when the bomb went off — that was it. They [race officials] stopped everybody.”

“I was just coming to the hotel and I heard all these sirens,” he said. “But you're in a big city and when you hear sirens you think nothing of it.”

“I'm just stunned right now,” he said. “It's a terrible situation. Boston has really embraced this race, they really get up for this thing and they're so friendly. For something like this to happen it's mind boggling.”

Chief file photo

Mike Heiliger runs in the Boston Marathon in 2008. The Squamish man finished the race a half hour before two explosions rocked the finish line area.